Newell-post construction.



J. GELIN.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

JOHN GELIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

NEWEL-POST CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

Application filed May 18, 1908. Serial No. 433,454.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN GELIN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Newel-PostConstructions, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved constructionfor ornamental wooden newel posts of stairways, which will considerablyreduce the cost of such posts and in which the ornamentation so appliedthat it will inclose the top of the post like a hood and will not belikely to open at the joints through irregular expansion and contractiondue to atmospheric conditions. This object is accomplished by the deviceshown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the upper part of a newel post constructed according to thisinvention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view, showing a modified application ofthis invention. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the same, taken on theline 44 of Fig. 3.

In the construction shown, the body part of the newel post is hollow,being built up of vertically disposed boards 5 fastened together andreinforced by the usual corner blocks 6. The ornamentation is applied inthe form of a hood enveloping the upper end of the post and comprising acap block 7 and side' parts 8. The parts 8 are preferably formed ofcomparatively thin wood and are mitered where they meet each other atthe corners of the post. The parts 8 are applied with their grainrunning parallel with that of the post, so that the post as a whole hasthe general appearance of a solid, handcarved post. This constructionpermits the parts 8 to be roughed out, then machinecarved, andafterwards applied to the face of the 0st.

In Flg. 1 it is assumed that the joint 9 between the cap 7 and the parts8 is a mitered joint similar to the joints between the adjacent edges ofthe parts 8. The structure shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will admit of either amitered joint between the cap 7 and the side parts 8, or a joint such asis shown i in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4 a part of the ornamentation is in theform of pieces of molding 10, but these pieces are applied to theoutside of the parts 8 and do not meet at the corners, so that they donot have mitered joints which tend to open throu h the unequal expansionor contraction of the adjacent parts.

Newel posts are usually ornamented by applying a cap block and coveringa part of the upper end of the post by means of moldings which arecomparatively thick and whose grain is horizontal while that of the postis vertical. In practice it is almost always the case that the moldingsand the other parts of'the post are differently seasoned, so that theyare affected to a diiferent degree by the presence or absence ofmoisture in the" atmosphere. This, together with the fact that the grainof the molding is at right angles to the grain of the post, causesdifferences in the shrinkage or expansion of the parts, with the resultthat the ornamentation breaks away from the surfaces to which it isattached, opens at the oints, and warps and twists so as to leaveunsightly cracks in the structure.

In the herein described construction, on the contrary, the grain of theside parts 8 of the ornamental hood is the same as that of the body ofthe post, and, as said parts are comparatively thin and are glued to theface of the body, they expand and contract with it, and the opening ofthe joints is accordingly obviated. A further important advantage of theherein described construction lies in the fact that the side parts 8,when carved as in Fig. 1, may be machinecarved, as hereinbeforementioned, and thereafter fitted upon the post, thus effecting a greatsaving over the present cost .of carved newel posts which, as usuallyconstructed, must be carved by hand.

WVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. A newel post, comprising a body part built up of wooden boards andan ornamental hood inclosing the upper end of said body and comprising acap block and side parts, said side parts being formed of wood andmeeting each other at the corners of the body, being fastened upon theadjacent boards of the body and laid with their grain parallel with thatof such adjacent boards.

2. A newel post, comprising a hollow body built up of wooden boardswhose grain is vertical, and an ornamental hood inclosing the upper endof said body and comprising a cap block and side parts, said side partsSigned at Chicago this 15th day of May being formed of Wood which isthin as com- 1908.

pared With the boards of said body and meeting each other in miteredjoints at the JOHN GELIN' corners of said body, being fastened uponWitnesses:

the adjacent boards of the body and laid EUGENE A. RUMMLER, with theirgrain vertlcal. j MARY M. DILLMAN.

